The SEC has hit the home stretch in full stride with multiple key results setting up what could be a dramatic finish at the regular-season finish line. Teams have separated themselves from top to bottom (took long enough) and we have a clear view at the tiers of the conference as we inch closer to the SEC tournament.
As always, conference standings can be found at the bottom, including the updated NET and KenPom rankings.
Key results
Florida 82
No. 13 LSU 77 (OT)
Florida ran its win streak to three with an upset victory over LSU on the road. Kevaughn Allen scored 21 for the Gators, with all 21 coming in the second half or overtime, in a game that needed an extra period to be decided. The largest lead of the entire game was an early 13-5 Florida advantage.
Tiger big man Naz Reid had 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Skylar Mays led in scoring with 18. LSU’s entire starting five reached double digits, but its bench was outscored 21-13.
Florida is now 5-0 when scoring at least 80 points in a game. The Gators followed up the win with a close win over Missouri for their fourth consecutive win, Florida’s longest streak of the year.
No. 13 LSU 82
No. 5 Tennessee 80 (OT)
LSU bounced back from the Florida loss with a monumental - albeit controversial - win over Tennessee. Javonte Smart took advantage of a foul off a rebound with 0.6 seconds left and knocked down the go-ahead free throws in overtime.
Smart had a career-high 29 points in a game LSU trailed for the first 18:37 of the second half. Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams combined for 45 points, while Jordan Bone had zero assists for the first time this season.
The game created a three-way tie at the top of the SEC standings with just four games remaining in the regular season.
Mississippi State 76
South Carolina 61
The logjam that once occupied the middle of the conference has seen a fair amount of separation. There is still plenty of position to jockey for. South Carolina was pulled into a tie with Ole Miss and is now just a game above Mississippi State and Florida thanks to the Bulldogs' win over the Gamecocks.
South Carolina held a 36-29 lead at the half before Reggie Perry took over and led Mississippi State on a monster 47-25 second half run. Of Perry’s 21 total points, 17 came in the second half. Quinndary Weatherspoon had 17 points for the Bulldogs, who used just seven players the entire game.
AJ Lawson had 18 points for the Gamecocks, who shot just 38.6 percent from the floor as a team. Mississippi State also held a decisive free throw advantage, 18-8.
Bracketology
CBSSports college basketball expert Jerry Palm currently has eight SEC teams in the NCAA tournament, with three of them as a top-two seed. Palm lists Kentucky as a No. 1 seed while Tennessee and LSU are currently No. 2 seeds.
Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Auburn and Florida are in the 7-10 range, while Alabama is among the Last Four In as a No. 12 seed.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi also has eight teams in the Big Dance, but in very different positions. Lunardi lists Tennessee as a No. 1 seed and Kentucky as a No. 2 seed. Most notably, he has LSU as a No. 4 seed. He also has both Florida and Alabama in separate play-in games in the No. 12 seed spots.
Next for Arkansas
The Razorbacks are looking to put an end to the longest losing streak of the Mike Anderson era this week. It’s going to be a tall task, at least on Tuesday night when Arkansas must go into Rupp Arena to face Kentucky.
Arkansas is actually favored to win the following the games, according to KenPom, but by only a combined four points. Against the Wildcats, however, KenPom gives Arkansas a seven percent chance at victory, while ESPN’s BPI gives it a mere 4.4 percent.
Kentucky is one of the nation’s top offensive rebounding teams, creating a matchup nightmare for an Arkansas team that gives up on offensive rebound on 34.2 percent of possessions (343rd). The Wildcats are top-10 in defending two-point shots and block 14 percent of shots that go up (21st).
The Wildcats get very little of their points from deep, which may be something that works in Arkansas’ favor. The Razorbacks block 14.8 percent of opponents shots (10th) and force opponents into a below-average inside the arc shooting percentage of 48.5 percent.
At the end of the week, Ole Miss heads to Fayetteville. The Rebels are an efficient team on offense led by star guard Breein Tyree. The junior dropped 22 points on Arkansas in the first meeting. The team is top-100 in shooting percentage and 13th in the country in free throw percentage (77 percent).
Ole Miss’ biggest weakness this year has been defending the three ball. The Rebels have watched their opponents make 37 percent of their three-point attempts (308th). This bodes well for Isaiah Joe, who knocked down three long balls in the first meeting. The team as a whole, though, was just 6 of 23 from deep in that 84-67 loss.
